Intel Drags Apple Again, This Time Undermining Its Users In ‘Social Experiment’
Video screenshot via Intel
No longer being Apple’s main performance chip squeeze (Apple chose itself), Intel hasn’t seemed to be dealing with the breakup well. Following their split, the latter has been ridiculing its former ally in a series of advertising campaigns in hopes to pull Apple users over to its side.
The latest stunt, unfortunately, seems to miss the mark with Apple fans.
Coined a “social experiment,” the video sees “real” Apple fans being invited to view supposed prototypes for future products demonstrated by a man who somewhat resembles software engineering VP Craig Federighi, as one YouTube user points out.
The room itself looks like the spaces used to conduct Today at Apple sessions in Apple’s retail stores, which could persuade the people into thinking they are at an Apple focus group.
The guests are then asked if they are Apple fans, to which they fervently declare their love for the brand. “I’m an Apple girl in an Apple world,” one claims.
The facilitator then shows them laptops that can be flipped to turn into touchscreen tablets, as well as touts the devices’ ability to store over 57,000 video games. They respond with awe.
When it is revealed to them that the gadgets aren’t upcoming products, but actual PCs that already exist in the market, the people react with even more disbelief.
The disses at Apple in this commercial are apparent. It even borrows the “one more thing” phrase from Apple’s event of the same name.
Viewers, however, point out one glaring flaw of the advertisement. Intel appears to be under the impression that Apple fans only care about the Mac’s hardware, when the focus should be on performance. Apple, after all, traded Intel chips for the self-designed M1 chip, a decision that likely influenced this anti-Apple campaign.
Err.. yea. These guys aren’t “apple fans”
— Ed Em (@doame_aces) October 5, 2021
No apple user will trade the macOS/ iOS ecosystem for a laptop that flips, or has a touchscreen, or can do gaming.. we might like those features (they’re nice), but from someone who has used intel and m1 macs + iOS/macOS eco — we’ll pass pic.twitter.com/JzXvDaPPMW
“Imagine being a chip company and not advertising the performance of their CPUs,” one Twitter user writes. To them, the attempt seemed “desperate.”
What Intel could have done differently was pit Apple’s M1 chip to Intel’s own processor, but currently, it seems to just be comparing oranges to… well, Apples. Though, of course, watching people’s reactions as they observe website loading times—i.e. today’s version of watching paint dry—doesn’t quite deliver the same punch.
Addressing suspicions that the people in the focus group were paid actors, Intel’s chief performance strategist Ryan Shrout stressed that they were “REAL Apple fans” with “real” reactions to Intel’s products.
And since I have been asked by a few people for clarity: YES, that is all of those participants REAL reactions, not scripted. It's surprising to see how many people that utilize tech still don't know the capabilities of the PC. Our job to change that!
— Ryan Shrout (@ryanshrout) October 4, 2021
[via MacRumors, video and cover image via Intel]
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